Runaway
by evilqueenmayor731
Summary: Started as a fic for Outlaw Queen Week day 5 - 'Forbidden Love'. AU in which Robin is Regina's first true love. Regina is riding one day only to find her horse carrying her where she did not plan - into the forest. She is thrown, and Robin comes to her rescue. What happens next surprises them both, and Regina will stop at nothing to keep what she's found.
1. Chapter 1

A scream pierced the silence, startling the buck in Robin's line of sight. The deer scampered away into the brush but Robin did not take the time to lament the lost kill. His focus was on the lady in distress. He left his bow and quiver in the tree as he leapt down and sprinted in the direction of the cry of distress.

Regina was struggling to regain her feet when the young man appeared. She was unaware of the leaves in her hair - she was conscious only of the pain in her ankle and her bottom, where she'd fallen.

"Milady, are you alright?" he asked, his cloak coming to settle around his shoulders. Almost eighteen, he was the picture of youth and health. His clothing, while not made of the finest fabric, fit him well and suited its purpose, which was all he required. She wore riding boots, trousers (which was unusual for a woman) and a light blue riding jacket. He noticed none of that - all he saw was her beautiful face. The sun shone behind her, illuminating her as if she were an angel. An angel with leaves in her hair.

"I think so," she replied, wise enough at sixteen to know that being alone with a strange man had the potential to be fraught with danger. When he stepped toward her she stepped backwards, only to yelp at the pain and stumble.

"I'm afraid I must disagree," Robin said, stopping his forward advance despite his desire to help her. She was scared, like a wild animal one must coax into trusting you. He had experience with that type of situation. "May I ask what happened?"

She studied him for a moment and decided there was no harm in sharing her story. "I was out riding when something startled my horse. She carried me into the forest and a limb knocked me off. I'm afraid she's gone for good." Regina cared more about her mare than her ankle. She loved that horse, had ridden her since she was a pony and Regina barely eight years old. "Did you see her?" she asked.

"I'm afraid not, milady, and I have no horse of my own to offer you. If you will allow me, I could escort you back to your home." She smiled reassuringly and began looking around for a suitable stick she could use as a makeshift cane.

She watched as he dug through the underbrush, considering his offer. Her home, not his. If he wanted to hurt her surely he would have done so by now. He would at least not be so polite. As she watched him crouched she found she appreciated the view, and her cheeks flushed a bright pink. He was very handsome, and kind, and offering to help her. She wanted to say yes, and not just because she knew that her mother would have emphatically said no.

"That would be very kind of you, thank you. I take it you know these woods well?" she asked. She did not know the way back home and would have to rely on his navigation.

"Indeed I do. I hunt here nearly every day. Ah, here we are," he said as he found the perfect fallen branch. Using the knife at his belt he sliced off the side branches, creating a sturdy stick just the right height for her to lean on. He handed it to her with a grin of success. "I hope you'll find this sufficient," he said. She took it from him and took a few cautious steps, using it to bear her weight. He'd judged her height perfectly. She was impressed.

"Poaching in the king's woods? You could lose your head for that," she replied, concerned for his welfare thought she did not even know his name.

"Only if I get caught," he replied, extending his hand to indicate the direction they should go. She began walking, slowly at first, then with more confidence as the pain in her ankle began to ease.

By the time they neared her house, they were laughing heartily, and falling in love. He'd learned that she loved to read and to ride, lived with her parents in a small cottage, loved her father more than anything else in the world, and dreamed of one day having a large family, as her own was so small. She knew that he'd lost his mother as a young boy, and he and his father lived alone in a castle far on the other side of the king's woods. She also saw that he wore his heart upon his sleeve, hunted only to survive and not for sport, and would give the shirt off his back if someone he loved were in need.

Regina stopped him while still a good distance from her home. She had so few things that were just hers and not under her mother's control.

"Thank you for your help. I can make it the rest of the way on my own," she said, making it obvious that she wanted him to go no further. He found it odd but wasn't the type to push the issue. He did, however, finally pluck the leaf from her hair with a chuckle. She gasped and blushed.

"You let me walk all that way and didn't say anything?" she asked, feeling through her hair for any more detritus. She was relieved to find none.

"I just noticed it, milady." In truth, he'd found its presence adorable, as if she were a forest goddess who'd been birthed by a tree. "So this is goodbye, then."

She nodded and leaned onto her walking stick, sadness creeping into her heart. They'd been together for hours but that did not feel long enough. She needed to know him better. She wanted more time.

He bowed gracefully to her. "It has been a pleasure. If I see your horse I will do my utmost to see that she's returned to you unharmed," he said, the same sadness she felt reverberating inside his heart. He had no doubt that he would miss her the moment she was out of his sight. He turned slowly, reluctantly, and began to walk away.

"Wait!" she called. He smiled and turned back to her. "I never got your name," she said. She needed something to whisper in the night when she said her prayers.

"Robin," he said simply. "Robin of Locksley." The sun began to set behind her, and again she was illuminated by its light as if she were an angel from heaven. He held onto the leaf, twirling it by its stem.

_Robin._ It fit him perfectly. He'd flown into her life and now was flying out. If only there was a way to keep him, but wild creatures should not be caged, and he was a denizen of the forest.

"I'm Regina," she said. "Fare thee well, Robin."

"And you, Regina," he said, her name rolling off his tongue and embedding itself in his mind. Even as he turned again and left, he knew he would return. He would remember the way she had shown him after they'd reached the forest's edge. Somehow and some way, he would find a reason to see her again.

"Who was that?" her mother asked as soon as she set foot inside the door. "Where have you been?" Regina's hope that she'd be able to keep Robin a secret from Cora died as quickly as it had been born.

"I was out riding when something spooked the horse. I lost control and she ran into the woods. I fell and was hurt, but that young man helped me find my way home." Regina exaggerated her limp as she walked across the room to a chair and sat down. She was tired from so much walking, and from so much anxiety now coursing through her. She laid the walking stick across her lap.

"You know you can't hide anything from me," her mother reminded her. When Regina failed to return home on time, she'd used a mirror to check on her. She had seen every moment of their trek – every smile, every laugh, every glance from one to the other. She had not liked what she had seen.

"I'm not hiding anything, mother," Regina said in earnest. Unconsciously her hands gripped the wood in her lap tighter. It was all she had that linked her to Robin, to the boy who had worked his way into her heart.

"Give me that," Cora said and snatched the stick away from her. Using magic to supplement her strength she snapped it in half and threw the pieces into the fire. Regina could only watch. She'd learned long ago that defying her mother never yielded success.

"Now listen to me. You will forget that boy, and you will never see him again. I forbid it." Cora ignored the anguish on her daughter's face. One day, when she was queen, Regina would thank her for everything she had done. Love was a useless emotion. Love was weakness. Once she had a crown on her head she would understand that.

"Yes, mother," Regina replied, bowing her head. She watched the pieces of the walking stick burning in the fire, and vowed to find a way to see Robin again. She'd have to learn magic to shield herself from her mother's power, but she would do it. She would do whatever she had to, and she believed that she would succeed. Because true love was the most powerful magic of all.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning Regina's father, Henry, woke her just after sunrise. She reluctantly sat up at his insistence and rubbed her eyes. She'd only fallen asleep a few hours earlier, and the rest she had gotten had been fraught with upsetting dreams.

"What is it, daddy?" she asked groggily, bright sunshine peeking through the shuttered window. He opened the shutters wide and pointed outside. She squinted and shielded her eyes until they had adjusted to the change.

"Rosie found her way home." Regina had not told him about Robin, only that she'd been thrown and her horse ran away. At the news of its return she sprang out of bed and bolted to the window. A smile lit up her face, one that her father assumed was due to the return of the steed. She loved few things more than that animal. She was happy to have her horse back – but in her mind the steed was now linked to Robin. And Robin was happiness.

"Where's mother?" Regina asked, her smile disappearing as quickly as it had graced her lips. She had doubts that Rosie had found her way home on her own, and that meant Robin must be nearby. Henry looked at his daughter and the worry he saw on her face saddened him. His greatest ongoing regret in life was his inability to protect her from Cora.

"She left before dawn. She said she had business in the village and wouldn't be back until supper." The news would undoubtedly bring her joy, as evidenced by the return of her bright smile.

She shooed him out of the room so she could dress. She hurriedly pulled on her riding pants, still unwashed from the prior day, and a loose tunic. Her hair fell down in sleep-tousled waves. She hurriedly brushed it before she pulled shoes onto her feet and rushed down the stairs and out the front door.

Rosie trotted to meet her master, who threw her arms around the horse's neck and buried her face in the soft, chocolate-colored mane. Regina was happy to see that her faithful friend was unhurt - but she had not returned alone. Around the horn of her saddle sat a laurel of woven grasses and leaves. Regina instantly knew who had made it. She looked around for him, and he sheepishly stepped out from behind a tree in the distance. She beamed and waved him over.

He approached slowly, wondering why she had no problem with his proximity today as opposed to the prior day. She had not explicitly told him that she didn't want anyone to see them together, but he was no fool. He'd been sneaking around in the forest long enough to recognize avoidance when he saw it. Thus his surprise when she waved him over, within plain view of the house.

"Where did you find her?" she asked, temporarily ignoring the laurel of leaves. There were some things she wanted to keep secret even from her father, who she felt certain was watching them.

"Not far from where I found you, as a matter of fact, "he replied, gently running his hand over the horse's flank. Regina touched her cheek to the horse's nose, happy to have her friend back.

"You must be hungry, Rosie. Let's get you inside where you belong." She led the horse inside the stable, only once looking over her shoulder to ensure that Robin was following. She'd been well trained by her mother in the art of flirtation. She simply had to adapt what she knew to the situation at hand, since they were not at a ball.

Once inside, Robin removed the saddle and bridle while Regina filled the trough with fresh water from the well and prepared a meal of oats and chopped apples. Once Rosie was happily settled in her stall and munching on her oats, Regina turned to find Robin holding the crown of leaves out to her.

"This is for you, not your horse," he said with a smirk. Her index finger brushed his for the shortest of seconds as she took it from him. Both felt the brief contact. Both hearts leapt.

"So that I'll always have leaves in my hair?" she asked with a soft smile. He'd remembered. Little did she know that he had the leaf he'd plucked from her braid carefully pressed into a book of love poems at home.

He nodded affirmatively, then gestured to the horses.

"Don't you have someone to help you here?" he asked. Even a family with a modest home should be able to afford a stable hand.

"We used to. A boy named Daniel. But mother fired him when she thought he was taking an interest in me." She took a deep breath before delving into the subject that was her mother. There was not likely to arise a better time.

"Her plan is for me to become a queen, and she won't hesitate to get rid of anything or anyone that could potentially jeopardize that," she said. After the things Regina had seen, she knew Danield had been lucky to escape with his life.

Robin's eyebrows shot up. A queen? Her mother aimed high.

"And what is your plan?" he asked, noting the way her fingers fidgeted with the laurel he'd painstakingly woven for her.

"My plan?" She had no answer. Nobody had ever asked her what she wanted. "I guess I don't have one. Resisting my mother is futile. I've tried, believe me, but she has very powerful magic." She could be incredibly persuasive. And dangerous.

"Do you have a plan for your future?" she asked defensively. He seemed to be about the same age as her. How much could he have thought about his future?

He nodded. "Continue caring for my father. He's ill, has been for a while. After he's gone I'll join the king's crusaders and make a career for myself in the military. Once my service is over I'll return home, marry, have a family, and rebuild the Locksley fortune and holdings, starting with our castle." He recited his plan as if reading a shopping list. It had been the same for the past five years, when his father had first started to get sick.

"It sounds like you have everything decided," she said, envious of the freedom he had to decide his own fate.

"I do," he said. "Well, I did." Everything had changed the moment he'd met her. She was a fork in the road he had not anticipated. She raised her eyebrows in a silent question.

"Would you take a walk with me? There's somewhere I'd like to show you," he said. He looked at her flowing hair and slender fingers and realized he had no idea what he would do if she said no. Luckily for him, he didn't have to find out.

A short while later they were back in the forest. The laurel had reached its intended home on Regina's head and Robin couldn't stop smiling about it. With her hair down and dressed more casually, she looked at home amongst the trees and flowers. In his eyes she belonged there. She belonged with him.

He led her to his favorite place in the river – a small but still substantial waterfall that fell into a pool just calm enough for swimming. She found the locale idyllic and she was honored that he had brought here there.

"It's beautiful," she said and immediately removed her shoes so she could dip her feet into the water. When he saw what she was doing he did the same. He sat next to her, the rising sun at their backs, and his hand brushed hers again. This time there was no pulling away. He took her dainty hand in his and held it gently, as if it were made of glass. She looked down at their hands – at his so tan and her own much lighter and smaller – then up into his eyes. Touching him felt incredibly right.

"Robin…" she started. The ensuing 'no' fell dead on her lips. That was her mother speaking, not her. Her heart thrilled at the feel of her hand in his. Her entire being reverberated with a resounding 'yes'. Sunlight filtered through the trees and lit up his face, making his eyes sparkle like blue diamonds. She never wanted to look away from them again, but she forced herself to return her gaze to the landscape.

"How did you find this place?" she asked. He turned his hand to lace their fingers together and her breath caught in her throat. She wondered if he felt the same, as he had to clear his throat before he answered her.

"My parents brought me here when I was a boy. My mother taught me to swim and my father how to fish. After she died my father wouldn't come here any more. I've been hoping to find someone to share it with ever since." He hoped she couldn't feel how nervous he was, as evidenced by the way his heart bounced off his ribs. To him each beat was louder than a thunderclap. All she heard was the melodious timbre of his voice, with a background of leaves rustling in the breeze and birdsong.

"I'm honored you chose me," she said and then stifled a yawn. "I'm so sorry! You're not boring me, I just didn't sleep well last night." She had waited until the house was dark and silent, then snuck downstairs to sift through the fireplace. She'd hoped there would be some fragment of the walking stick he'd given her left, but she'd found naught but ash. By the time she'd cried herself to sleep, there'd been only a few hours left until dawn.

He saw no trace of tiredness on her face. There were no circles under her eyes. All he saw was beauty – the beauty that had robbed him of his sleep as well.

"Surprisingly enough, I know exactly how you feel." After checking on his father and pressing the leaf in his favorite book, Robin had laid awake thinking of her. After several fitful hours he abandoned his bed in favor of searching the forest for her horse.

She took a deep breath and sighed, then turned her head to look up at the sky. The desire to play one of her favorite games from her childhood struck her. She laid back on the ground and, since their hands were joined, Robin was tugged down alongside her. With a grin she pointed up at a fluffy white cloud as it moved across the blue sky.

"Is it just me, or does that look like a rabbit?" she asked. He grinned, immediately catching on to what she was doing. His feet splashed in the water and he shook his head.

"A rabbit? Nay, I see a man with his arms lifted in the air." Regina squinted her eyes and tilted her head in his direction, her hair grazing his temple.

"If that's a man, where are his legs?"

"Curled underneath him, obviously."

She chortled. "I think you're just trying to be difficult."

He squeezed her hand and ran his thumb along the back of hers. "And if I were?" he asked, looking at her as she gazed up at the sky.

"Then I'd say you obviously need a nap so you can stop being so cranky."

And nap they did; unintentionally, and side by side in the sunshine and fresh air. The trees filtered the strongest of the sun's rays, and it wasn't until it reached its peak that its heat woke Regina from a blissfully dreamless slumber.

Regina looked to her left to see a sleeping Robin. He'd rolled over onto his side, facing her, and at some point after she'd nodded off, the fingers of his free hand had wound into her hair. Even as they'd slept, neither had let go of the other's hand.

She watched him as he dozed. Her mind told her to take her fill of his visage, because once they parted, she could never see him again. The more she felt for him, the more she placed his life in peril. Her eyes travelled over his face - the subtle curve of his brow, the short growth of beard along his jaw, the shallow hint of wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. Her gaze settled on his lips. They appeared soft, and she imagined what it would be like to kiss them. The young often dream of their first kiss, and Regina was no exception. Now she had a face to place into her imagination, and it made her yearn all the more for the kiss she knew she shouldn't steal.

She sat up and leaned over him, unsure of what she should do. It would be easiest if she disappeared while he slept, but he knew where she lived. He would come to her house searching for her, and that could be disastrous. If only there was a way to make him forget about her altogether. That could only be done with magic, and she didn't want to take that path. She saw what magic did to her mother. She refused to be like her.

"Robin," she sighed softly before kissing his cheek. She wanted more, so much more, but as with most things she'd encountered in her life, she could not have it. She could only have what her mother wanted her to have. She couldn't stray from the path set out for her no matter how much she wanted to defy Cora. She couldn't be so selfish as to risk Robin's life simply because she wanted the love she could imagine having with him.

His eyes opened to find a very melancholy Regina looking down at him. He'd barely felt her hair slip through his fingers as she'd sat up, but the sensation of her lips on his cheek still reverberated across his skin - warmth and softness that sparked a tingling in his limbs and anxious tightening of his heart.

"What's wrong?" he asked, acutely aware of how close her face was to his; how easy it would be to close the distance and kiss her. He sat up and she moved back, much to his disappointment.

"It's late. I have to go home," she said, unable to hide her sadness. To Robin, her reaction seemed disproportionate to the situation. He was on the verge of asking her why, when he realized he already knew. When they parted at the edge of the wood, she intended never to see him again. Considering what she'd told him about her mother, it was a logical conclusion. He was unsure what he could say or do that would change her mind, but he knew he had to do something. He couldn't live his life without her in it.

"As you wish, milady," he said, hoping that she would reply that it wasn't what she truly wanted. Instead she began putting her shoes back on, and he silently did the same.

They walked in silence, the mood distinctly different from when they'd made the trip into the forest. Regina kept her arms crossed so that Robin couldn't hold her hand again. She worried that she wouldn't be able to let it go when the time came for them to part.

The moment arrived before she was ready. Regina forced a smile but couldn't look into Robin's eyes. She wanted to say goodbye as if nothing were wrong, but it was too difficult for her to pretend. Lying to him felt very, very wrong.

"I had a nice time," she said in a shaky voice.

"When can I see you again?" Robin asked, his heart filled with dread at the answer he already suspected. She finally lifted her beautiful face, and the eyes that met his were filled with tears. She simply shook her head. Despair devoured him whole.

"If you keep letting her have her way you will never be free." She knew he was right. What she couldn't explain was that she had long ago resigned herself to a life of unhappiness. Meeting him had temporarily reignited hope in her, but she couldn't let it live. She wouldn't let her mother destroy the most perfect man alive. Perfect for her.

"Run away with me," Robin pleaded. As long as he had her it didn't matter where they went.

"Who would take care of your father?" she asked. The hopeful look in his eyes dimmed.

"Then come live with us." He was aware he was grasping at straws, but he wasn't ready to relent. He wouldn't until all possibilities had been exhausted.

Regina shook her head again. "She would find me."

"And what's the worst that would happen?" He failed to grasp the true gravity of the threat that Regina's mother posed to him. Regina was not just afraid of her mother, but ashamed of her as well. Nobody wants to admit that their parent, the person responsible for raising them and teaching them, is capable of murder.

"She would leave your father without a son to care for him." And Regina with guilt too heavy to bear.

She looked over his face a final time, memorizing every aspect. A goodbye stuck in her throat. Silently she turned to walk away. He reached out and grabbed her arm. If he were to never see her again, he had to know what it was like. Just once.

He pulled her to him and, with his fingers curled behind her ear into her hair and his thumb caressing her soft, pale cheek, he pressed his lips to hers in a desperate kiss.

Time stopped. The tingling Regina had felt at the touch of his hand multiplied exponentially where their lips touched. It radiated out from her skin. If visible to the naked eye, the two would have glowed with a brilliant, golden light that erupted from them like fireworks. True love's kiss is powerful enough to break any curse - even the curse of having Cora for a mother.

Tears slipped from Regina's closed eyes and ran down her cheeks. Her arms unwittingly moved around his waist. She felt surrounded by his warmth and the undeniable knowledge that she could not live without him. There was no life, miserable or happy, if he was not a part of it. He was what she had prayed for and wished for and dreamed of. He was her soul mate.

He began to pull away and she followed, closing the tiny distance to kiss him a second time. She felt his lips curl into a smile against hers and her heart swelled in her chest so much she feared it would break free from her body and float away.

"I'll find a way. Somehow. I don't know how, but I will. I promise," she whispered, her sable eyes blurred with tears borne from joy as well as fear. Robin wrapped his arms around her slight frame and held her tightly to his chest. He kissed the top of her head and breathed in the scent of her hair. It carried the musk of the woods from her fall the day before and it suited her, his forest angel.

She reached up and removed the laurel from her hair. She could not return home with it. "Take care of this for me?" He'd made it as a gift for her. He didn't want to take it back, but he did.

"I'll leave you a message at the waterfall when I know when I can meet you again. I don't know how long it will be."

"I'll wait," he said. The memory of her kiss would sustain him until then.

She smiled, gently touched her forehead to his, then turned homeward and began her trek with a heavy heart - and one desperate idea in her mind. She didn't know if it would work, and she dreaded what the price might be, but she would pay any cost to be with Robin. He was not just a man, he was her happy ending. And the only way she could see to make that ending come true was to go to someone even more powerful than her mother.


	3. Chapter 3

"Rumplestiltskin, I summon thee."

Regina stood alone in a part of the forest she had never dared explore before. The moon was high in the sky, surrounded by a litany of twinkling stars, all which combined to light her way to the small clearing. As a young girl, she had overheard the merchant's children talking about the legend of the Dark One – the magical imp who grants wishes and makes deals. She'd dismissed their talk as silly rumor then. After all, she knew that real magic existed and that her own mother wielded it. If she ever needed something, her mother would get it for her.

Then she had met Robin and everything had changed. As she'd lain awake searching for a way to escape her mother's grasp, the memory of the story had awoken. What she had initially dismissed as childish superstition and forgotten transformed into a singular hope. The following night she'd encouraged her mother to drink more than her usual amount of wine at dinner, and while Cora snored softly Regina had stolen her spell book, the one she kept under her pillow and perpetually at her side - just long enough to examine its contents. Ironically, the answer she sought was contained not within its pages, but embossed on the back of the black leather binding. The name of the one who had taught Cora everything that she knew about magic. The only way to defeat magic is with more powerful magic.

And so she'd traveled to a place she feared, where the children had said the demon lived, and she'd called out the name. She didn't have to wait long for a response.

"Who dares summon me in the middle of the night?" a shrill voice behind her asked, making her spin around on her heel. He'd appeared from thin air as she'd seen her mother do many times. She swallowed thickly and summoned all of her courage.

"I do," she said, holding her chin high. "I mean, I did. I'm-"

"Oh I know who you are, Regina, dear." The creature took a step closer. Leaves crunched under his bootheel. Regina stood her ground though inside she trembled with fear.

"I've known you since you were a wee babe. I've waited a long time for this moment." The wind moved the leaves in the trees and light illuminated the Dark One's face. He appeared much like a man, underneath his green sparkling skin and dark eyes. "Now what have you called me for?"

Regina cleared her throat nervously. "I want to make a deal." She wanted even more to ask about his insinuation that he'd known her for her entire life, but that was not her goal. She had to stay focused. He was a trickster, and whatever he claimed to know of her was probably a lie. Listening to it would only be a waste of time, and her time was limited. She had to return home before anyone woke and discovered that she was gone.

"Well of course you do," he replied with a twitch of his head. "Let me guess. You need help to be with your true love."

She gasped. "How did you know that?"

He laughed, the sound grating to her hear like fingernails across a slate. "Do you think you're the first young girl to summon me? I've been bringing couples together since before even your mother's mother was born."

Regina did not doubt that he was telling the truth. "I've found my true love but my mother doesn't approve. I need a way to hide myself from her."

"Tsk, tsk, sneaking around behind mommy's back won't make her very happy." Regina watched him with a scowl on her face. She knew how her mother would feel, that was why she'd summoned him in the first place. "Why should I stick my neck out for you? What are you offering me?" He narrowed his eyes at her. He'd quickly reached the part she feared most, as she had nothing of value to offer him.

"I'll do anything you want. Just give me a way to shield myself from her view. She uses magic to watch me every time I leave the house. If you could just give me a spell, some way to keep her from being able to see where I go…"

He held up his hand and stopped her. "What do you think she'll do when she tries to see you and it doesn't work? She will know that I helped you. She's quite the sorceress, your mother."

This time Regina followed the trial he was blazing. Her curiosity was too great.

"What do you know about her?" Regina knew so little. Her mother never talked about her past or shared her feelings. To Regina she gave only orders and disapproval.

Rumplestiltskin laughed. "What don't I know," he replied without a hint of subtlety. Regina's stomach turned.

"Then you know that she'll stop at nothing until I fulfill the dreams she failed to realize herself, whether I want those things or not. She'll ruin my life if you don't help me." She had reduced to begging but she did not care. Her love for Robin was stronger than her pride, just as it had been stronger than her fear earlier as she'd entered the woods, and contemplated turning back.

"I'm not in the business of charity, Regina. I can provide the magic you seek, but it comes with a price. Are you prepared to pay it?" He studied her carefully as she reeled from his use of her name. She'd heard her mother say once that names had power. And he knew hers.

It took mere seconds for her to decide. "Yes. Whatever you want, I'll do it."

He chuckled with glee and circled her several times, looking her up and down from every angle. The scrutiny reminded her of being examined by her mother before leaving the house. She waited, impatient but fearful. He touched her cheeks with the backs of her hands and gazed deeply into her eyes with a shiver of his shoulders.

"So sweet and gentle. And so powerful. Stronger even than your mother, if you learn how to use it."

Regina grimaced and backed away from him. "I don't want power, I just want to be with Robin."

"Too late dearie, you already have it… but you must first learn how to wield it. I just so happen to be shy of an apprentice at the moment and find myself overwhelmed with boredom. You will be my new student."

Regina's heart dropped into her stomach. "You want to teach me how to use magic? Just like you taught my mother?"

"Exactly."

She shook her head. The last thing she wanted was to become like her mother. She had told herself that she would pay any price to be with him, but surely there was something she could give him that wasn't her deepest fear. "There has to be another way. I won't become like her. I see what the magic does to her. She's… she's heartless."

He stepped closer and caught a lock of her long, brown hair with his fingernail.

"You said you'd do anything, and that is my price. Once a day, every day, you will meet me here and learn what I have to teach you without complaint. Now really, is that so terrible?"

It was, and he knew it was. She felt betrayed by her own feelings, as if he'd read them like a book and picked out the one thing she couldn't bear to do. Her chin trembled slightly as she blinked back the tears that shone in her doe-brown eyes.

"Don't worry, dearie, you won't become like Cora," Rumplestiltskin sang. "You have something she didn't."

She looked up into his dark and terrible eyes. "And what's that?"

"Why, true love, of course."

She thought of Robin, of his smile and warm hands and soft kiss. He was more than just love; he was freedom. And there was nothing she wouldn't do for her freedom.

"Alright. We have a deal."


End file.
